Have You Ever Asked a Particularly Bold Question on a Job Interview? Did It Succeed or Backfire?

Last week at the Careerist, Vivia Chen took note of a post at Forbes’ Crossing Borders blog in which the post’s author, Maseena Ziegler, described a bold interview move she used repeatedly while in her 20s. At the end of the interview, when her interviewer would ask her if she had any questions, she would ask: “If you didn’t offer me this job, what would the reason be?”

And the interesting thing? “Every single time I asked it at the end of the interview, I ended up with a job offer,” Ziegler wrote.

Chen is skeptical of whether such a strategy could work in the corporate world. “It certainly seems to breach the rules of corporate etiquette, where you’re expected to make some bland summary of your skills, thank the interviewer, shake hands, and disappear.”

So this week, we’d like to ask you: Have you ever asked a particularly bold question on a job interview? If so, did it succeed or backfire? If you were the interviewer who’s had a candidate say or do something surprising, please share those stories as well.

Posted by BL1Y: “If you want more attorneys to do pro bono work, then allow attorneys to deduct the value of their time from their taxes. Instead of having no money, now a poor client basically comes in with 25 to 50 percent of your typical fee, and you don’t have to worry about the client not paying.”

Do you have an idea for a future question of the week? If so, contact us.